Republicans hated Executive Orders (EO) when they were used by President Obama. During the Obama presidency, EOs were used 276 times, in response to Republicans in Congress trying to obstruct his every move.
With every EO signed by Obama, Republicans would accuse Obama of overreach.
“He’s not a king, he’s not a dictator, he’s not allowed to do it himself.” – The-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
“Barack Obama is a king, not a president.” – Fox News
“He may think he’s king, he may declare he’s a king, but that’s not what he is under the Constitution… He has rewritten the Constitution for himself as a part of his effort to fundamentally transform the United States of America.” – Then-Representative Michele Bachmann
And last but not least…
Why is @BarackObama constantly issuing executive orders that are major power grabs of authority? This is the latest http://t.co/4IVBckTE
And now we have Pres Trump signing EOs like there is no tomorrow. His latest EOs to address much needed Coronavirus relief, may prove to be the biggest power grab of authority. Democrats in Congress and some Republicans have expressed their concern over this latest move by Trump. It remains to be seen if Dems will take Trump to court to prove the validity of his EOs.
Dems should take Trump to court and continue to work to get a deal done to extend Coronavirus relief. With every day that passes by Trump figures out a new way to ignore the Constitution.
As always…
there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer today and left the meeting with no deal in sight. According to both sides, there is bipartisan agreement on many issues but still disagreements on key parts of extending the much needed Coronavirus Relief package.
“I think there’s a lot of areas of compromise. I think if we can reach an agreement on state and local and unemployment, we will reach an overall deal. And if we can’t, we can’t…” – Steve Mnuchin
After meeting with the Dems, Mnuchin and Meadows met with the press and announced they will recommend President Trump use executive orders to help address assistance for renters, student loans and unemployment insurance.
“We’re going to take executive orders, to try to alleviate some of the pain that people are experiencing,” – Mark Meadows
Now, what kind of executive orders can Trump enact? I have no idea, so it will be interesting to see what he comes up with.
The problem with ALL of this, is that it should have never reached this point where enhanced UI ($600) and now PPP have expired.
Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi passed the Heroes ACT ($3 Trillion dollars) back in May, and includes the following:
Stimulus Check – Individuals earning up to $75,000 would get a one-time $1,200 check. Couples earning up to $150,000 would be eligible for $2,400
Hazard Pay – $200 billion for hazard pay
Given to a wide variety of “essential” workers, including doctors, nurses and other frontline medical personnel, police officers, firefighters, social workers, grocery clerks, postal workers, and childcare and cafeteria workers
A $13-an-hour raise paid until workers receive a total of $10,000 if their regular pay is less than $200,000 per year. Or up to $5,000 total if they make more than $200,000 a year
Paid for 60 days after the pandemic ends if the $10,000 or $5,000 totals aren’t reached first
Distributed by employers, who will apply to the government for hazard pay, add it to their workers’ paychecks, deduct payroll taxes from all hazard payments
Unemployment Benefits – The HEROES Act would extend the benefits from the CARES Act, including the extra $600 weekly federal unemployment benefit, through January 31, 2021. If you’re already receiving Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), your payments could be extended to March 31, 2021
Student Loan Forgiveness – The CARES Act suspended interest and payments for most people with federal student loans through September 30, 2020. Interest will not accrue during that period. The HEROES Act extends that break for another, year through September 30, 2021, and expands it to all federal student loans, including Federal Perkins Loans and some other loans
Rental Aid – provides approximately $100 billion for rental assistance. An existing nationwide grant rental assistance program would verify a tenant’s inability to pay rent and give vouchers to cover the cost of rent and utilities. It would also extend the ban on evictions for nonpayment for a year following its enactment date
Mortgage Relief – The bill also provides $75 billion for a homeowner assistance fund intended to prevent mortgage defaults and property foreclosures
Realistically speaking there is no way Republicans will agree with all of the above (Republicans want to reduce the UI from $600 to $200 (may go as high as $400)), but there is plenty of room for compromise. Unfortunately Senate Republicans and the White House waited until the Monday before the Employment Benefits expired to start negotiations. And now there is the pressure to get something done to help struggling families.
One compromise that could work was floated by a bipartisan group of economist who worked with the Obama and Bush Administrations. They proposed that Congress extend the enhanced unemployment insurance at $400 a week, and then tie the bonus payment to the unemployment rate in each state. As the unemployment rate falls, the bonus would decline.
As of right now, there are no new negotiations scheduled for this weekend. Hopefully both sides will come back Monday ready to make some kind of deal.
As always…
there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!
This really shouldn’t be difficult, but unfortunately this is the reality we live in. Senate Democrats argue that the current $2T Stimulus Bill contains a $500B lending program aka “slush fund” the Treasury Dept controls and will allow them to select who will receive the the funds. Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats maintain that the package should be more heavily favored for the people, and restrictions for how companies will use the money.
Republicans on the other have accused the Democrats of playing politics, and not having the urgency needed to help Americans out of work due to COVID-19 pushing Mayors/Governors to lock down cities and states.
So who is right?
I don’t know, but lets re-visit the not too distant past for some insight. Look back to late 2008 during the financial crisis, the last stimulus package that bailed out the automobile industry and big banks (TARP). While the bailout was praised for saving the auto industry and stabilizing the banks, the major criticism of the bailouts was that it was not felt by the people. President Obama himself admitted that not enough was done to help Americans directly who were had underwater mortgages.
With that said, is there some kind of rule against splitting this stimulus up into 2 parts? One for the people and one for the large and small businesses. I think everyone can agree on sending Americans money, either $1200 or $2000. That can be ironed out, so why not come to an agreement on a stimulus for the people first instead of trying to package a huge bill that includes a stimulus for business?
If you quickly get something out for the people and then separately tackle a stimulus for the businesses. You can provide the people will relief while taking the time necessary to put together a business stimulus package that restricts how the money is used (buybacks or paying bonuses to execs).
As always…
there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!
When everyone can agree, with COVID-19 shutting down cities in the United States and countries in Europe. A stimulus to get the people thru these tough times is necessary, unfortunately Republican Senator Mitch McConnell sent a stimulus package that doesn’t really help the most needy.
The legislation would provide checks of $1,200 per adult for many families, as well as $500 for every child in those families. Families filing jointly would receive up to $2,400 for the adults. The size of the checks would diminish for those earning more than $75,000 and phase out completely for those earning more than $99,000. The poorest families, those with no federal income tax liability, would see smaller benefits, though the minimum would be set at $600.
Limiting the payment amount for those without federal tax liability was a change from the original White House proposal, and caught some Republicans off-guard, provoking criticism. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) tweeted: “Relief to families in this emergency shouldn’t be regressive. Lower income families shouldn’t be penalized.”
An early analysis showed the vast majority of middle class people would receive the cash payment, but the percentage doing so falls dramatically toward the bottom of the income distribution. About 22 million people earning under $40,000 a year would see no benefit under the GOP plan, according to an initial analysis by Ernie Tedeschi, a former Obama administration economist.
It’s not that McConnell’s payouts are less than what others like Senator Cory Booker and Maxine Waters have suggested ($2K). The issue is with the provision that would limit the amount for those without federal tax liability. A provision that even caught the White House by surprise. As noted in the Washington Post McConnell’s proposal would prevent approximately 22 million people earning under $40K a year. THe people who need the stimulus the most!!!!
Meanwhile McConnell’s proposal would take care of the wealthy. How many times do the people have to be slapped in the face in favor of big corporations receiving tax breaks?
Action is needed, but we need the right action to happen!
As always…
there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!
This week Derek Jeter was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame along with Larry Walker. Jeter fell 1 vote short of receiving a unanimous vote into the hall, and this had Yankee fans run to social media talking about how “we” need to find this writer who dared to vote against Jeter.
Larry Walker and Derek Jeter
And to be fair it wasn’t only Yankee fans, but it’s always more fun to point them out HAHAHA!
Now, if you are honest and you put your Yankee/NY bias aside for a moment. You will realize that Jeter receiving 99.7% of the vote is a great accomplishment, and all of this complaining about 1 vote is really stupid.
Let’s start with some facts:
In his 20-year career, Derek Jeter was never the best player in baseball. Without a doubt a top 5 and top 10 player in baseball but never dominated the sport like say Mike Trout
Derek Jeter was never a MVP, he finished top 3 in voting 3x
So when you look at the only player to be voted in to the Baseball Hall of Fame unanimously, Mariano Rivera stands out from Derek Jeter. Rivera without a doubt is the greatest reliever/closer of all-time; he’s the G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time). Mariano dominated baseball, and there was no question he was the best closer in the game. Derek Jeter never reached that level, and that’s ok, it doesn’t take away from what he accomplished.
Here’s something for Yankee fans to think about, Joe DiMaggio, ‘The Yankee Clipper’; was voted the sports greatest living player in 1969. Joltin’ Joe was not a 1st ballot Hall of Famer, in fact it took 3 years for him to be voted into the hall and he only received 88% of the vote.
As always…
there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!
In October of 2018, the estate of Prince sent a letter to the Trump campaign requesting that they no longer use any of the deceased singer’s songs at any Trump campaign events and activities. The Trump campaign responded that they acknowledged the request and will no longer use Prince’s music to avoid any “future disputes”.
This request was not unusual as other artist expressed similar displeasure in Trump’s campaign using their music.
Of course this didn’t stop Trump from using Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ at his recent 2020 campaign event in Minneapolis.
Why ‘Purple Rain’? Well, it’s the campaigns hope that they can change the state from ‘Blue’ (Democrat) to ‘Red’ (Republican) for his re-election bid. It’s their hope that Minnesota is up for grabs which would make it a ‘Purple’ state.
This didn’t go over well with The Prince Estate, and they let it be known
Prince believed in owning his music, and fought hard to make that happen, just for situations like this. So far there has been no response from the Trump campaign, but they better not play with the estate. The last thing want is to have Prince’s ghost haunting them.
As always…
If there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!
Those who know me, know I have definitely caped for Melo over the years. He’s a Cuse guy who brought a National Championship to Syracuse, and he took on the challenge of trying to bring a NBA chip back to NYC.
Even though he fell way short in NYC, I still appreciate he wanted the challenge. I can only hope he will now get another shot to end his career on a higher note than where it is now.
Marc Lamont Hill was fired by CNN for what was deemed to be hate speech in his speech to the United Nations concerning Palestine. Since the speech, the people calling Hill anti-Sematic have pointed to one line at the end of the speech.
Hill called for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea,” repeating a phrase — “from the river to the sea” — that has been used by terror groups intent on the destruction of Israel.
From Washington Post
Hill has disputed this claim, stating that earlier in the speech he talked about going back to the 1967 borders before the Six-Day War.
Hill apologized for how his words have been received, but still stands by his overall view of Palestinians living in occupied situation.
The backlash from Hill’s speech is good example of people being outraged over something they don’t even fully understand. Not many people have listened to Hill’s speech, instead they have locked into one phrase.
We live in a society where it’s a race to see who can voice their outrage first. There’s no longer room for differing views, and constructive conversation. Now it’s all about who yells the loudest, and who’s comment can go viral or get the most retweets.
As a fan of Hill, I hope some network or some form of media picks him up. His commentary is important in this day and age.
Here’s Hill on the The Breakfast Club talking about his speech and being fired from CNN
As always….
If there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!
Yes, last night was a disappointing moment for New York Yankee fans. With the acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton, Yankee fans had dreams of Stanton and Aaron Judge hitting 100 homers combined in a season.
But unlike the great Yankee teams led by Derek Jeter, the 2018 Yanks lacked strong pitching and a lineup of hitters that worked counts and frustrated pitchers. Still, the Yankees are still in good position to compete for an number of years. They have a number of young talented players ready to step up, while older players like C.C. Sabathia and Brett Gardner have probably seen their last days in pinstripes.
Players like Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar (soon to be AL Rookie of the Year) have already produced at the major league level, with Chance Adams (P), Domingo Acevedo (P), and Clint Frazier (hopefully can get past concussion issues) seemingly ready to contribute at the next level.
24-hours have not even passed, and fans are already pining for Joe Girardi, talking about signing Manny Machado and Bryce Harper… STOP IT!!!!
Odell Beckham Jr / Lil Wayne‘s ESPN interview that aired Sunday morning received a ton of criticism from commentators with OBJ being labeled as selfish player due to his commentary on the state of the New York Giants.
With the Giants off to a 1-3 start (before losing to the Carolina Panthers) OBJ voiced his frustrations with not enough big plays and not being able to pinpoint the source of the issue; QB, play calling, or heart?
Now it’s not uncommon for players to complain, in fact it’s basically common place when it comes to dynamic receivers who feel if they get the ball they make good things happen for team. But what was different about this interview was Lil Wayne presence. Like what did he have to do this and what does he add to this story?
So when Eli Manning was asked about the OBJ/Lil Wayne interview, in classic Eli dry humor, Eli stated “I don’t watch Lil’ Wayne much”
With the Eli response and NYC sportswriter Frank Isola‘s snarky tweet about OBJ’s muffed punt return
Tunechi woke up this morning with a message for everyone on his Instagram….
“Frank, I know you in New York. I spent a little bit of time on an Island there, called Rikers Island,”
“I don’t know much about you though. Fact is, you don’t know much about me. With that said, keep my name out your mouth.”
Addressing Eli Manning
“Every time somebody bad mouth you, I be the first one to say – you can ask Skip Bayless, that’s my homie – first thing I’m gon’ say is ‘man listen, I got an uncle that was doing time that remembers seeing Eli, Archie, Peyton, Cooper, he remembers seeing them at five in the morning every other morning on the schoolyard, way before the students get there, practicing. I’m the first one to back you up,”
“And here you talk about you don’t watch Lil Wayne much. That’s fine. I’m cool with you, I don’t care what you watch. But you know, this is hometown love, man. You ain’t gotta do me like that. I didn’t say anything bad about you, man.”
“I ain’t gon’ say nothing bad about you now,”
“It’s still hometown love, I fucks with you Eli. It’s all good, you ain’t gotta watch much of me. You should probably listen, if you could. You probably need to with the way you’ve been playing. You need to bang some Carter V before games.”
Well, okay Wayne…
Didn’t realize you were a backer of Eli, good to know. As for Frank Isola, he is annoying and knowing Isola I doubt he will heed the warning, so we shall see.
As for the OBJ interview, it’s not a good look for him and he needs to figure out better ways to release his frustrations. He should take a page of LeBron James playbook, as Bron has mastered the media in this social media age. At the end of the day Odell wants to win, but he is struggling with balancing that will to win and carrying the pressure of a big time contract. Being a receiver he is dependent on a lot of pieces for him to successful; QB, offensive line, and offensive scheme. As great as he is, he has to learn without his teammates he’s not going anywhere fast.
Side note, in response to Lil Wayne the Giants blasted Wayne’s Carter V during practice today…
As always….
If there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!
It's On Broadway 